Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2.15, the God Krishna says, “That person who is not disturbed by happiness and distress and is steady in both situations is certainly eligible for liberation.”
A diseased person happily consumes bitter medicine with the hope that it will help him get cured. A person opts for painful surgery to remove a specific organ/object from his body to live better. Likewise, the distressful situation should be considered the pathway to happiness. This understanding alone can bring so much comfort and happiness to everyone’s life.
Our whole life has become a struggle to possess material objects that can please our senses and provide illusory comforts. Every moment, we are in a war-like situation to accumulate material objects that can bring pleasure—that big car, house, comfort, lavish lifestyle, etc. The more we get habitual of these, the more distressed we become. And once we are trapped in the net, it’s never-ending situation.
Recently, I was told by the son of a billionaire that he wants to buy a studio apartment and wishes to live a simple and ordinary life.
True happiness comes with the realisation that nothing is permanent. The happiness of being a millionaire is only until you live in a society of poor people. Then, you move to a society of billionaires, and being a millionaire will be a painful experience. Your state of happiness changes based on the lens through which you look at life.
Liberation is felt only when you use your material possessions for the right purpose and when your capacities and capabilities are used to help the needy. You choose to live life within the necessities rather than being surrounded by self-pleasing objects and comforts. You are bound to suffer the biggest distress—the complete waste of life in trying to gain pleasure while swimming against the flow of the river.